Jimgrim by Talbot Mundy — Read

Grim signalled it was my job. Fully expecting that the men we gassed had come to life and at last were answering Bertolini's electric bell, I parted the horse-hide curtain and stepped through swiftly. No use hesitating. There was no one in the passage. I saw the door at the end shut silently. So it was all to do over again, and I was in doubt whether to creep up and spring the latch so that no one could enter, or whether to take all chances.

There was perfume in the air -- faint, but it stirred memory, and in some strange way it stopped the skin from crawling up my spine. I did not realize how scared I had been until I suddenly felt less scared. I decided caution was as useless as guesswork and went straight ahead -- jerked the door open -- and then wasted no more time whatever. Baltis -- with her throat in a Chinaman's fingers! He had her down on her knees and her hands were wrenching at his wrists. He tried to turn on me. He could not free himself. He went down like a steer under the pole-axe when I hit him. Then, before I even thought of stopping her -- I was watching to see whether the Chinaman was actually out or not -- she did something to the bracelet on her left wrist, knelt, and struck him with it on the neck. While I helped her to her feet she readjusted the bracelet.